Christmas Tales - Brandon Witt Page 0,28
God!” He stood quickly. “I’ll be right back.”
It was amazing how fast he could move, considering how soundly he’d been asleep. I called after him. “We really don’t have to do this. It’s a little bit ridiculous.”
“How dare you call my creations ridiculous!” His voice was muffled as he banged around in the kitchen. Why it required banging of any kind, I had no idea.
Raymond beamed as he walked back in, passing in front of the gingerbread farm. “You promised. For Christmas. Ridiculous or not.”
He sat down beside me and held up the plate of brownies in front of me like it was a work of art. “Care for some magic, my crazy man?”
One
“Silent Night” holds the distinction of being the most annoying song ever written. Even back when I was young enough to still like Christmas, “Silent Night” drove me crazy. It was too slow, too mournful, too… ugh. However, put in a techno beat and it surpasses its own dredges of mediocrity. I glanced at the calendar hanging next to the window of safety glass. December 15. Okay, we’d passed the halfway point. Only ten more days. Ten more long, fucking days of heavy-beat-laden Christmas music. Ten Days. I could do ten days. Maybe not without murdering someone, but still. Bad enough I had to hear it at work, but the shit was everywhere. Everywhere! A person couldn’t get their damn groceries without needing to survive yet another version of the same twenty songs we’d been listening to for generations. Thankfully, out in the world, the carols weren’t techno, at least most of the time.
The track switched to “Jingle Bell Rock.” The techno version. I groaned and let my forehead rest against the glass.
“At least this one makes a little more sense. It’s a rock song.”
I didn’t bother looking over at Philip and kept my eyes squeezed shut. “Just because it has the word ‘rock’ in the title doesn’t make it a rock song. And it definitely doesn’t make it a techno song either.”
Even the loud ripping sound of Philip opening one of the boxes that had been delivered an hour before didn’t entice me to open my eyes. Neither did his words. “Oh. Poppers. Good. We were running out.” More rustling noises came and then a pause. I could feel him staring at me. “Hey, Brian.”
“What?” I gritted my teeth. Only a few more hours and I could go home. I’d planned on filming tonight, but I didn’t think I had it in me. Maybe just some World of Warcraft and take home Taco Bell. I brightened at the thought. Taco Bell!
“Look at me.”
With another groan, I angled to see Philip without moving my head from its resting position against the glass. I forced myself to keep from grinning and raised an eyebrow. “You’re an idiot.”
“Nah. I’m adorable.” He waggled his eyebrows and continued to gyrate his body in time to the music. He raised each hand above his head as he shook two of the larger one-ounce bottles of poppers. “Can’t you hear the jingle of the little power pellet inside?”
And he was adorable. Not my type—twinks had never done anything for me. But objectively, yes, adorable. And he knew it. I nearly told him I most assuredly couldn’t hear the tiny ball clanging around inside the glass bottle but then pictured him coming over and shaking the poppers by my ears as he shimmied his body over mine.
“It’s lovely, Philip. You’re quite the Christmas elf.” I gestured toward the office door. “You should probably do a sheet run. Rooms fifteen and twenty-three just checked out while you were on your smoke break. And for the love of God, can’t you wear more than just a jockstrap?”
“You really want me to cover up all this perfection?” He lowered the bottles but didn’t stop dancing, making sure to thrust his thinly covered bulge in my direction. “Plus, the guys like it.”
I pushed away from the window finally, growing serious. “I won’t tell Robert I caught you getting fucked last week. But you’re gonna get caught. You know management doesn’t want us fooling around while we’re working.”
He ignored my warning and, like I was afraid he’d do, came over and began to shimmy over my body. “Don’t be jealous, daddy. I’ll let you take me anytime you want. You know I love me a big old bear.”
I looked out the window again before he could read my expression. “Just clean the rooms, Philip. And keep your dick in